Writers' Block

The (In)Experience of Wearing a Sari to Work

2011-03-18T14:15:00.000-07:00

On the 100th International Women's Day -- the day I was going to wear a sari to work for the first time ever -- I awoke early, anticipating not only numerous attempts at getting the sari to stay on me, but also last-minute alterations to tight-fitting blouses meant for slimmer days. Still, I managed to run late, and found that I had exactly 35 minutes to jump in the shower, wash my hair, squeeze

Why I want to wear a sari (this 8th of March)

2011-03-06T06:49:00.000-08:00

I am a career woman.I am a career woman, originally from India, now living in the west. I don't wear power suits. At least not every day. I bring out my suits only for conference presentations and for teaching sessions. Otherwise, my colleagues see me wearing trousers mostly, and almost as often, skirts. And not just A-line or pencil skirts but frilly skirts, ethnic skirts, and for a short

Humor: Why can't I have an Amy Chua day?

2011-01-11T19:56:00.000-08:00

I thought I'll pull an Amy Chua today when I realized my girls are, on average, repeating each level of their swimming classes twice. Twice! On average! Which means sometimes it is as high as 4 or 5. So I threatened to drown their pillow pets and ordered them to stay in the pool for 10 hours or as long as it takes to get their hand-leg-breathing coordination, pronto! And no bathroom

Amy Chua: Chinese (American) Mother Superior

2011-01-08T20:55:00.000-08:00

Perhaps out of necessity, Amy Chua, in her Wall Street Journal article, 'Why Chinese Mothers Are Superior,' argues for an extreme position when it comes to parenting. I can understand that her philosophy has a balancing role to play in the current North American environment that demands passivity from parents--take, for example, this advice column from Miss Lonelyhearts to a dad bewildered by his

Kalyna's Song

2011-01-08T20:28:00.000-08:00

Lisa Grekul's 'Kalyna's Song' is a beautiful and funny book about growing up Ukrainian-Canadian in a country where rules about when to be Ukrainian and when to be English are never to be bungled or broken. Canadian books, however deserving, are rarely as well-known around the world as American, and it breaks my heart when this order of world affairs defies my impulse to set things right. So

Smoke and Mirrors

2010-11-11T07:50:00.000-08:00

This funny video, 'How to gift wrap a cat' brings home to me how all of life is smoke and mirrors. With different background music and normal film speed, we could have, very easily, been led to believe that the cat thinks he is being dressed for coronation.But a life built on illusions may not be as bad as it sounds--we live it everyday, at different levels, and for the most part, with good

In memoriam: Amutha "Ammu" Subramaniam

2010-11-07T15:30:00.000-08:00

I am posting this poem in memory of Amutha Subramaniam (1992 - 2010)TO BLOSSOMS by Robert Herrick Fair pledges of a fruitful tree,Why do ye fall so fast?Your date is not so past,But you may stay yet here a-while,To blush and gently smile;And go at last.What, were ye born to beAn hour or half's delight;And so to bid good-night?'Twas pity Nature brought ye forth,Merely to show your

Martel is in the news again

2010-04-08T17:33:00.000-07:00

Canadian author Yann Martel has a new book out. Having won hearts and prizes through the effective portrayal of animal characters in his second book 'Life of Pi', he is now out with 'Beatrice and Virgil', a novel about a donkey and a howler monkey and the journey they take with a writer named Henry.Martel has been in the news a lot lately in Canada. 'Life of Pi' is being made into a movie. Old

'Radica' by Kenneth Salick

2010-04-03T23:35:00.001-07:00

I am moved by 'Radica', a Soca-style song (great music; greater lyrics) by Kenneth Salick from Trinidad. Salick is a village handyman, not a trendy, smooth pop or hip hop singer with music industry backing. An MP3 of 'Radica' can be downloaded from amazon.com for 99 cents. I think if he changes the name from 'Radica' to Radhika' the Indian market in the subcontinent will open up.Radica by Kenneth

Life's Turning Points

2010-02-24T20:37:00.000-08:00

Author's Note in Yann Martel's 'The Facts Behind the Helsinki Roccamatios' begins like this:When I was in my second year of university, aged nineteen, my studies ground to a halt. Just as the curtain was lifting on my adult life, with promises of untold freedom, what I might do with that freedom began to trouble me. I had always expected academic degrees--a bachelor's, a master's, a Ph.D. -- to

The Wisdom and Compassion of Frank McCourt

2009-03-21T09:26:00.000-07:00

Several times in a normal week, I remember the humorous words and wisdom of Frank McCourt, author of Angela's Ashes, 'Tis, and Teacher Man.So given the topic and the comments thread here, I did not want to let the opportunity pass today.In 'Tis, where we learn about McCourt's early years in the US as an adult, there is a sizeable section about how he starts university at the age of 23, without a

Does Rushdie's Midnight's Children add value to the Booker Prize?

2008-07-11T15:08:00.000-07:00

Much is made of the fact that Salman Rushdie's Midnight's Children has, for the second time in history, been judged the best ever winner of the Booker prize. [Link]Victoria Glendinning, a member of the panel that drew up a list of 6 books for the shortlist, said that "the readers have spoken - in their thousands. " That is right, the honor was decided by a public vote via the internet and SMS

Charmed

2008-07-10T18:15:00.000-07:00

Like me, if you happen to be one of the few people in the internet world who hadn't heard of Dancing Matt until today, you are in for a charming treat. Matt Harding seems to have a quirky writing style and a quirkier dancing style. But in the third version of his simple but original and creative video 'Where the hell isMatt?' he has cemented his reputation for excellent taste in music. The lyrics

Cheated out of being shortlisted

2008-07-09T21:59:00.000-07:00

Imagine you have worked hard for several years to produce a collection of short stories and it has been nominated for a top prize. You are hoping to make the shortlist and would welcome the accompanying perks: publicity in newspapers, increased sales, prestige of calling yourself a shortlisted author and having your name attached to the historic record of the prize. But then you read this:The

'a complicated kindness' by Miriam Toews

2008-06-24T14:11:00.000-07:00

Miriam Toews’ funny but heart-breaking novel ‘a complicated kindness,’ features the Mennonite church and community. It portrays Manitoban families in the fictitious East Village, cut off from a city that is only 40 miles away and ministered by the fiercely pious and overly-zealous Hans. Toews, herself a Manitoban of Mennonite descent, paints a picture of the Mennonite church as one which prepares

On being tagged

2008-06-09T06:47:00.000-07:00

I've been tagged. This is probably the only context in which I will concede to liking chain-letters and go on to honour them. Up until now I had no idea that Sujatha over at fluff 'n' stuff even knew of my existence but she has me listed right next to Usha from agelessbonding. Usha is a veteran of the blogging world--she started blogging in 2003 and her site meter indicates she gets 267 visits,

Nabokov's 'Natasha'

2008-06-04T10:51:00.000-07:00

In its June 9, 2008 issue, The New Yorker has published 'Natasha'--a short story by Vladimir Nabokov, circa 1924; translated by son Dmitri Nabokov.The story is a study of contrasts. Witness this early scene: Ailing Khrenov "pulled the blanket tightly around him" but "the thermometer was warm, alive—the column of mercury climbed high on the little red ladder. "Old Khrenov, who is bed-ridden, ill

Wanted: More irreverence for Bachchans and their beatified bahu

2008-05-28T11:21:00.000-07:00

Manish of Ultrabrown triggered this post by putting up a link to this -- hallelujah! -- glory. (See images 81129802, 81128887, 81128879, 81129935, 81130033.) Bookoholic's comment reminded me that I like to rail against mindless unfairness meted out to aging women who are way past their own glorious youth.Hasn't the pretentious Bachchan family watched enough Jane Austen adaptations on TV to figure

"Can I be a Hindu too, Mommy?"

2008-05-05T09:43:00.000-07:00

A Sepia Mutiny post highlighting the reactions of a particular religious group to the movie The Love Guru has evolved into an interesting discussion -- as I see it -- on spiritual origins and religious ownership of free-flowing thoughts and ideas.A commenter suggests:The real problem is when people trying to create boundaries, man made religious laws to trap or confine concepts which are

Pico Iyer on the Dalai Lama

2008-04-30T13:20:00.000-07:00

Pico Iyer has known the Dalai Lama for over 30 years. Iyer was recently on CBC's Tapestry with Mary Hynes [Listen to the show here] in connection with the launch of his new book The Open Road: The Global Journey of the Fourteenth Dalai Lama.In this program segment, Hynes attempts to tease out the pop-culture phenomenon the Dalai Lama appears to have become (in the west) from the complex

The Meaning of (Academic) Life

2008-04-28T13:32:00.000-07:00

Today is one of those rare days when I will admit to restlessness about life within the walls of academia. (This admission is coming from somebody who refused to apply for a position in industry or any other non-academic employment sector for that matter.) A generous dose of humor is desperately needed to get over this atypical personal crisis.So perhaps it is time to transfer more books from the

The Hazards of BWM (Blogging While Mom)

2008-04-23T07:58:00.000-07:00

I was just recovering from one of the hazards of blogging during lunch at work: I had typed 'Booker of Bookers' when I actually meant 'The Best of Bookers'. My husband had discovered the error and chided me. He is a stickler for facts. He is a writer after all. I was mad at myself. I am a stickler for facts too. I earn my living as a researcher. Plus, I hate to discover I embarrassed myself. I

The Dark Side of Indian English

2008-04-21T08:59:00.000-07:00

A person belonging to a scheduled caste told Anjali Puri of Outlook India: "English is a Goddess we worship." [From CBC's Dispatches. Listen here.] And why not? In a country where tools of education and livelihood are venerated and accorded their own special day, it does make sense to add the Language of Economy and Power to the pantheon of locally-relevant concept of Gods. No one will endorse

'Life of Pi,' my choice for Best of the Booker

2008-04-17T08:40:00.000-07:00

To celebrate the 40th anniversary of the Man Booker Prize, a Best of the Booker will be awarded this year to one of the 41 Booker winning books (there were ties in 1974 and 1992). A panel of judges will select a short list of six novels, then the public will vote on the official website, which means, of course, that the best book won't necessarily win.I have not read all 41 books to make a truly

One little-known South Indian book

2008-04-16T08:52:00.000-07:00

A comment on Sepia Mutiny:"...I'd like to feel refreshed and uplifted upon finishing a South Indian authored book, not weighed down and vaguely guilty about something I can't quite put my finger on."One book, little-known in contemporary reading-circles, seems to be Kamala Markandaya's 'Nectar in a Sieve.' I believe that if you choose to read just one South-Indian authored book (in the English

'Namesake'--the movie

2008-04-15T08:30:00.000-07:00

Only last week did Melvin and I, busy parents that we are, watch 'Namesake' the movie. (Wait, I am not completely honest here. We are not that busy. The truth is really embarrassing: we just can't get seem to reclaim the TV/DVD player from our kids and we've been reduced to watching cartoons aimed at 3- to 5-year old kids. But before you judge us, let me just say that this has done wonders to my

Sujatha, R.I.P.

2008-04-08T12:30:00.000-07:00

S. Rangarajan, a prolific and popular writer in Tamil who adopted the pen name Sujatha, died in Chennai on February 27, 2008. He was 72.I am not as well-read in Tamil as I ought to be but if any one writer deserves to get credit for opening my eyes early to the pleasures of reading in Tamil, it will be none other than Sujatha. I was a pre-teen when I discovered his serial novels in the pages of

Sir Arthur C. Clarke

2008-03-31T10:16:00.000-07:00

Sir Arthur C. Clarke, writer, best known for his science fiction masterpiece 2001: A Space Odyssey, died on March 18, 2008. Eleanor Wachtel remembers him (with audio excerpts from old interviews) in her CBC program Writers & Company. [Broadcast 30 March, 2008 and April 3, 2008]Sir Arthur had his epitaph written: He never grew up. But he never stopped growing.Listen to the entire program (50 mins

Race/Ethnicity or Gender--which comes first?

2008-03-20T13:43:00.000-07:00

Kate Zernike, in a New York Times article titled 'Post-feminism and other fairy tales,' writes:...[M]any women who fought the first wave of battles for gender equality have seen a bias against Mrs. Clinton — which helps explain why older women form the core of her support......A contest between a woman and an African-American raises the inevitable question about whether it is harder to overcome

Winnipeg Hindus

2008-03-06T10:05:00.000-08:00

As his wife, it is my prerogative to criticize everything that Melvin does, including what he does for a living (i.e., writing). I take my role seriously. Even the lightest, breeziest, funniest humor he writes gets subjected to my evil scrutiny. The sole purpose of such activity is to find something, anything to make him scratch that bald spot on his head -- even if only for a moment. If you

Naipaul's Half a Life

2008-03-03T21:20:00.000-08:00

Whichever book of Naipaul’s I read, I am struck by the ease with which he writes. This book, in which Willie Chandran learns about his “tainted” origins in India, comes of age in England and buries himself in Portuguese Africa for 18 years, is no exception.Whatever you think of Naipaul and his politics, you have to admire his writing genius, the command he has over his writing, his unwavering,

The Exile of the Mind

2008-02-20T21:00:00.000-08:00

On the outset, Links by Nuruddin Farah delves into the thoughts and emotions of the Somali exile arriving in Mogadiscio after 20 years. On a deeper level, the book depicts the sense of alienation and despair prevalent among resident Somalis in the land of their birth. A work of fiction, set against the background of actual events, the novel captures life at its rawest where warlords are “in the

Rattawut Lapcharoensap, a young writer of note

2008-02-10T18:40:00.000-08:00

Rattawut Lapcharoensap, the Thai-American writer, was featured in Granta 97: Best of Young American Novelists 2. The first of his short stories I read, which appeared in Zoetrope: All Story, was called At the Cafe Lovely. I thought it was powerful writing and it stayed on my mind for a few weeks. I later came to know that he was only 25 when that story was published. (He was born in 1979. Read an

Music to your ears, while your fingers tap...at your keyboard

2008-02-10T13:35:00.000-08:00

If you would like to listen to a sampling of music, from the 1920s to the present, in different genres (jazz, popular, classical, opera, film scores, more) from Europe (and to a lesser extent from North America), while at the computer, Desmond Carrington's radio show 'The Music Goes Round' is a wonderful choice. Mr. Carrington's calm voice and knowledgeable introduction to his chosen artists, and

Young, male, Clinton-supporting democrat = Loneliness

2008-02-07T10:02:00.000-08:00

Alex Joseph is a student at Georgetown University. As an intern at Slate.com, he reflected (with some humor) on how his political preference has made him the loneliest man on campus. He was on CBC's 'As it Happens' last night (February 6, 2008). You can hear him on the web (duration: 6 mins and 59 secs) or download a podcast from the site [Link] Mr. Joseph writes on Slate:...However

The image of youth as virtue

2008-02-07T08:18:00.000-08:00

A family friend (more family than friend), who moved from India to the United States a year ago, was surprised to hear that I’m a supporter of Hillary Clinton in her bid to win the Democratic presidential nomination. "But why?" was all she could manage for the next two minutes of our telephone conversation, apparently quite stunned by my confession.I tried to

Botswana on my mind

2008-01-29T07:38:00.000-08:00

The No.1 Ladies’ Detective Agency, a fiction series by Alexander McCall Smith, is a charming, humorous, light read about the life of Precious Ramotswe, the first lady private detective in Botswana. Mma Ramotswe is kind, compassionate and self-assured. She has a clear understanding of what is right and what is wrong with Botswana today. If there arose any new moral situations, she would peel the